Gates Cambridge Scholarships

About

In October 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a donation to the University of Cambridge of $210 million to establish the Gates Cambridge Trust. This benefaction creates in perpetuity an international scholarship program to enable outstanding graduate students from outside the United Kingdom to study at the University of Cambridge. The Trustees are required to award scholarships on the basis of a person's intellectual ability, leadership capacity and desire to use their knowledge to contribute to society throughout the world by providing service to their communities and applying their talents and knowledge to improve the lives of others.

The Trust expects there to be of the order of 230 Gates Cambridge Scholars studying at the University at any one time. Although there may be variation in the actual number of awards made each year, the Trust seeks to elect approximately 100 new scholars annually.

Eligibility

May come from any country of the world except the United Kingdom.

May apply to study any subject currently available at the University.

Should normally be under the age of 30.

Candidates will be expected to have excellent transcripts with high GPA scores showing evidence of sustained achievement in study, together with the type of academic references which speak of the candidate's leadership potential, social commitment, intellectual ability and why further study at Cambridge is particularly appropriate.

Must apply to pursue one of the following full-time residential courses study:

Research leading to the PhD degree

One-year post-graduate courses (e.g. MPhil, LLM, Diploma etc.)

Second Bachelor degree as an Affiliated Student

MBBChir Clinical Studies

Gates Cambridge Scholarships are awarded only to students who gain admission to the University through the University's regular procedures.

Application Procedure

Gates Cambridge selects Scholars using four criteria: academic excellence, leadership potential, a commitment to improving the lives of others and a good academic fit with Cambridge.

Applicants apply for a degree, a College place, a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, and several other funding opportunities on the one application form, the Graduate Application Form. You will need to supply various supporting documents (e.g. transcripts and academic references), including a personal reference for your application to Gates Cambridge.

In order to make the best possible application you should read the entire Apply section of the Gates Cambridge website in conjunction with Cambridge University's Graduate Admissions website and the website of the department to which you intend to apply. Applicants are advised to research admission and funding as early as possible.

Read about Gates Cambridge's three-stage selection process on the How we select page.

Value of the Award

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the following costs:

the University Composition Fee at the appropriate rate*

a maintenance allowance for a single student (£14,300 for 12 months at the 2015-16 rate; pro rata for courses shorter than 12 months)

one economy single airfare at both the beginning and end of the course

inbound visa costs & associated NHS surcharge costs

*The University Composition Fee varies for different types of students; applicants should see the Graduate Studies prospectus for full details about precise amounts. Where a student from the European Union has been successful in gaining a fees award from public authorities they must accept this and the Trust will not pay these fees.